Still beverage brewing system and method

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for brewing still beverages in commercial environments are provided. A brewing machine ordinarily used for brewing tea or coffee may be utilized to brew a still beverage. A pre-prepared still beverage mixture may be added to a brew basket or filter within the brewing machine. The brewing machine may then be activated. Water may flow through or be added to the pre-prepared still beverage mixture as it exits the brew basket or filter and enters a dispenser or reservoir. Sweeteners, flavorings and/or pulp may be added to the pre-prepared still beverage mixture as it enters the dispenser or reservoir. This may change the flavor, intensity, texture, and/or taste of the brewed still beverage according to the needs of the operator or the preferences of those who will drink the brewed still beverage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No.61/980,395 filed Apr. 16, 2014, entitled “Lemonade Brewing System andMethod,” which is hereby incorporated by referenced in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to beverage brewing systems andmethods, and more particularly to still beverage brewing systems andmethods.

BACKGROUND

Freshly made lemonade has become a popular beverage in fast foodrestaurants, such as Chic-fil-A®. This type of freshly made lemonade isgenerally prepared on site by cutting lemons, juicing them, adding sugarand water, and blending. This can present a challenge for certaincommercial environments, such as convenience stores and restaurants, toreplicate given the time and resources required to do so.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide systems and methodsfor brewing still beverages, such as lemonade, in commercialenvironments. A brewing machine that may be utilized for brewing tea orcoffee may be utilized to brew still beverages using systems and methodsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a method for brewing astill beverage in a brewing machine, the method comprising: adding apre-prepared still beverage mixture to a brew basket within the brewingmachine; and flowing water through the pre-prepared still beveragemixture wherein the still beverage formed from combining thepre-prepared still beverage mixture and water fully evacuates the brewbasket and enters a reservoir as a homogenous mixture. The method alsomay comprise adding one or more additional components to thepre-prepared still beverage mixture as it enters the reservoir. The oneor more additional components may be selected from the group comprising:sweeteners, flavorings, pureed fruit, and pulp. The still beverage maybe lemonade, and the pre-prepared still beverage mixture may becomprised of lemons and water. The pre-prepared still beverage mixturemay be further comprised of a gum-based addition that causes thepre-prepared still beverage mixture to melt faster when water flowsthrough the pre-prepared still beverage mixture. The pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may be in frozen form before being added to the brewbasket. The pre-prepared still beverage mixture may be in anencapsulated form before being added to the brew basket. Thepre-prepared still beverage mixture may be in a slurry form before beingadded to the brew basket. The still beverage may be selected from thegroup comprising: lemonade, a fruit drink, coconut water, an isotonic,and horchata.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a method forbrewing a still beverage in a brewing machine, the method comprising:adding a pre-prepared still beverage mixture to a brew basket within thebrewing machine; and adding water to the pre-prepared still beveragemixture as it exits the brew basket and enters a reservoir. The methodalso may comprise adding one or more additional components to thepre-prepared still beverage mixture as it enters the reservoir. The oneor more additional components may be selected from the group comprising:sweeteners, flavorings, pureed fruit, and pulp. The method also maycomprise combining a sweetener with water to be added to thepre-prepared still beverage mixture. The pre-prepared still beveragemixture may be further comprised of a gum-based addition that causes thepre-prepared still beverage mixture to melt faster when water is addedto the pre-prepared still beverage mixture. The pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may be in frozen form before being added to the brewbasket.

Additional embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a methodfor brewing lemonade in a brewing machine, the method comprising: addinga pre-prepared lemonade mixture to a brew basket within the brewingmachine, the pre-prepared lemonade mixture comprised of lemons and waterin a gelatinized form; and flowing water through the pre-preparedlemonade mixture wherein the water melts the pre-prepared lemonademixture as it evacuates the brew basket and enters a reservoir as ahomogenous mixture. The pre-prepared lemonade mixture may furthercomprise one or more of the following: flavorings, pulp, sweeteners, andpureed fruit. The pre-prepared lemonade mixture may further comprise agum-based addition that accelerates the melting of the pre-preparedlemonade mixture as it evacuates the brew basket. The method may furthercomprise adding one or more additional components to the pre-preparedlemonade mixture as it enters the reservoir, the one or more additionalcomponents selected from the group comprising: flavorings, pulp,sweeteners, and pureed fruit.

When the brewed still beverage is lemonade, it should be appreciatedthat the pre-prepared lemonade mixture, regardless what form it maytake, may be comprised of lemons and water, thereby making it afresh-brewed lemonade as opposed to a powder or other artificialmixtures that may be presently available to prepare lemonade incommercial settings. The pre-prepared lemonade mixture also may includeflavorings, pulp, and/or pureed fruit to enhance the taste and flavor ofthe resultant brewed lemonade. The pre-prepared lemonade mixture alsomay include gum-based additions that may make the resultant brewedlemonade more palatable and also may cause the pre-prepared lemonademixture to melt faster when hot water flows through the brew basketduring the brewing process or when water combines with the pre-preparedlemonade mixture in the dispenser. It should be appreciated that thetartness and/or sweetness levels of the resultant brewed lemonade may beselectively adjusted to accommodate the tastes and preferences of thoselikely to consume the brewed lemonade without departing from the presentdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a brewing machine with a dispenser to receive a stillbeverage as it is brewed according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a water connection mechanism that may be attached to abrewing machine to provide water from a water system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts a sweetener line connection to a brewing machineaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 depicts brew baskets for a brewing machine according toembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 depicts a double-dispenser system for receiving a brewed stillbeverage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide systems and methodsfor brewing still beverages, such as lemonade, in commercialenvironments, including but not limited to, convenience stores andrestaurants. A brewing machine that may be utilized for brewing tea orcoffee may be utilized to brew still beverages, such as lemonade, usingsystems and methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a pre-prepared lemonademixture may be added to a brew basket or filter within the brewingmachine. The brewing machine may then be activated, such as byactivating an on switch or utilizing another input mechanism that may beprovided on a user interface. Water may flow through or be added to thepre-prepared lemonade mixture as it exits the brew basket or filter andenters a dispenser or reservoir. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, sweeteners, flavorings and/or pulp may be added to thepre-prepared lemonade mixture as it enters the dispenser or reservoir.This may change the flavor, intensity, texture, and/or taste of thebrewed lemonade according to the needs of the operator or thepreferences of those who will drink the brewed lemonade. The resultingproduct is a still beverage that fully evacuates from the brew basket orfilter but does not melt through the brew basket or filter too quickly,thereby creating a homogeneous mixture once brewed.

It should be appreciated that the pre-prepared lemonade mixture,regardless what form it may take, may be comprised of lemons and water,thereby making it a fresh-brewed lemonade as opposed to a powder orother artificial mixtures that may be presently available to preparelemonade in commercial settings. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the pre-prepared lemonade mixture also may includeflavorings, pulp, and/or pureed fruit to enhance the taste and flavor ofthe resultant brewed lemonade. In embodiments of the present disclosure,the pre-prepared lemonade mixture also may include gum-based additionsthat may make the resultant brewed lemonade more palatable and also maycause the pre-prepared lemonade mixture to melt faster when hot waterflows through the brew basket during the brewing process or when watercombines with the pre-prepared lemonade mixture in the dispenser. Itshould be appreciated that the tartness and/or sweetness levels of theresultant brewed lemonade may be adjusted depending on the preferencesof the consuming public, such as within a particular geographicalregion. For example, the consuming public in the Southern United Statesgenerally may prefer sweeter brewed lemonade than the consuming publicin the Northeast United States. Accordingly, the type or amount ofsweetener may be selectively adjusted to accommodate the tastes andpreferences of those likely to consume the brewed lemonade withoutdeparting from the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated that different types of brewing machines may beutilized without departing from the present disclosure. A brewingmachine, including but not limited to a Bunn Infusion Iced Tea Brewer(ITB or ITCB), may be utilized. The brewing machine may be a machinethat may ordinarily have brewed coffee or tea but may be adapted to brewa still beverage, such as lemonade, in some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the brewingmachine may be specially configured to brew still beverages, such aslemonade. In further or other embodiments of the present disclosure, aspecially configured brew basket may be employed.

FIG. 1 depicts a brewing machine with a dispenser to receive the stillbeverage, such as lemonade, as it is brewed according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 1, the brewing machinemay include a brew basket or filter that may ordinarily receive a tea orcoffee bag or filter pack. It should be appreciated that the same brewbasket or filter may be used in brewing a still beverage according toembodiments of the present disclosure; however, there may be embodimentsof the present disclosure wherein the brew basket or filter may bemodified to receive certain types of pre-prepared still beveragemixtures without departing from the present disclosure. The brew basketmay include a funnel on the bottom that may allow the brewed stillbeverage to flow through to a serving device, such as a dispenser orreservoir. The serving device may receive the pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture once it has flowed through the brew basket or filter.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the brew machine may includean empty brew basket having a funnel (such as one of the brew basketsdepicted in FIG. 4) inserted into funnel rails positioned over areservoir or dispenser into which the brewed lemonade will flow from thebrew basket. The operator may place a pre-prepared still beveragemixture into the brew basket or filter. The funnel of the brew basketshould be positioned to align the funnel discharge over the dispenser orreservoir. The operator may then select a batch size and other optionalsettings and then start the brewing process. The pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may flow from the brew basket through the funnel orspout which in turns delivers the pre-prepared still beverage mixture tothe dispenser where the brewed lemonade will be formed. As will bedescribed in more detail below, the water feed line may deliver waterthrough the brew basket or directly to the dispenser. Similarly, asweetener line may dispense one or more ingredients forming the brewedstill beverage either through the brew basket or directly to thedispenser without departing from the present disclosure. However, itshould be appreciated that there may be some still beverages that may bebrewed without use of a sweetener line according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

It should be appreciated that the pre-prepared still beverage mixturemay assume a variety of forms according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, thepre-prepared still beverage mixture may be placed into a paper or otherflow-through mechanism that may be inserted into the brew basket. Insome embodiments of the present disclosure, the pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may be pre-packaged with the paper or otherflow-through mechanism for direct insertion into the brew basket.However, there may be other embodiments of the present disclosurewherein the pre-prepared still beverage mixture may be placed directlyinto the brew basket without a paper or flow-through mechanism beinginserted. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, thepre-prepared still beverage mixture may be provided in a frozen orencapsulated form that may be placed directly into the brew basket.

As discussed, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, thepre-prepared still beverage mixture may assume a frozen form before itis placed into the brew basket. In such embodiments of the presentdisclosure, it should be appreciated that the pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may be flash frozen so that the pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may be effectively stratified. In other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the pre-prepared still beverage mixture may takethe form of a gel or gelatin-type formulation that may be placeddirectly into the brew basket. A gel or gelatin-type formulation may beuseful so that the pre-prepared still beverage mixture may be storedprior to use without requiring refrigeration, and this may be helpful incommercial scenarios, such as in convenience stores or restaurants,where refrigeration space may be at a premium. There may be otherembodiments of the present disclosure wherein the pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture may be formed as an encapsulated fluid, such as may beutilized in bubble tea preparations, and the encapsulated fluid may bedropped into the brew basket. In other embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the pre-prepared still beverage mixture may take the form ofa slurry that, when brewed, may fully evacuate the filter or brew basketbut will not drop through the filter or brew basket too fast, therebyproducing a homogeneous still beverage.

It should be appreciated that the strength of the still beverage to bebrewed may be adjusted by utilizing more or less of the pre-preparedstill beverage mixture. It also should be appreciated that more than onetype of pre-prepared still beverage mixture may be utilized withoutdeparting from the present disclosure. Further, there may be embodimentsof the present disclosure wherein more of a pre-prepared still beveragemixture (such as more than one encapsulated fluid or gel pack) may beutilized if a full batch of a still beverage is to be brewed (i.e.,filling the entire dispenser), and less of the still beverage mixture(such as one encapsulated fluid or gel pack) may be utilized if a halfbatch of the still beverage is to be brewed (i.e., filling half of thedispenser).

FIG. 2 depicts a water connection mechanism that may be attached to abrewing machine to provide water from a water system, such as a watertank or a tap, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments of the present disclosure, the water connectionmechanism may be coupled to the back of the brewing machine. In otherembodiments of the present disclosure, the water connection mechanismmay be coupled to the side of the brewing machine. In furtherembodiments of the present disclosure, the water connection mechanismmay dispense water directly into the serving device without departingfrom the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that there may besome embodiments of the present disclosure wherein the water connectionline may dispense heated water from a hot water tank such as throughgravity feed when a valve is selectively opened (or is opened at apredetermined time), and there may be other embodiments of the presentdisclosure wherein the water may be heated after it leaves the tank butbefore it reaches the brew basket or dispenser.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the brewing machine maybe equipped with a sweetener setting. This may allow an operator toadjust the level of sweetener depending on the preferences of thecustomers. There may be a separate inlet for sweetener, and it may usean existing CO₂ system or an external third-party pump for sweetenerdelivery according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3depicts a sweetener line connection to a brewing machine according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. A variety of sweeteners may beemployed as part of the brewed still beverage system according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The sweetener may come in avariety of forms including but not limited to, in liquid form, in powderform, in syrup form and combinations thereof. It also should beappreciated that natural sweeteners and/or artificial sweeteners may beemployed without departing from the present disclosure. The sweetenermay be housed in a reservoir, such as a box of pre-measured sweetener.In some embodiments of the present disclosure, water may be combinedwith the sweetener before it is delivered through to the brew basket orthe reservoir. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, a watersupply line may be coupled to a sweetener line, thereby providing apressurized water feed that may draw the sweetener from a sweetenerreservoir and mix it with water.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when sweetener is to beemployed in brewing a still beverage, such as lemonade, the brewingmachine may include a button or other input wherein the operator selectsthe input to include sweetener. There may be embodiments of the presentdisclosure wherein the operator may adjust the type or amount ofsweetener through one or more inputs. For example, there may be someembodiments of the present disclosure wherein an operator may opt forinclusion of cane sugar as a sweetener for a brewed still beverage;however, there may be other embodiments of the present disclosurewherein an artificial sweetener may be employed to brew a lower caloriebrewed still beverage. Different sweetener selections also may beprovided by selectively changing the feed line to the brewing machine.However, there may be other embodiments wherein more than one feed linemay be attached to the brewing machine so that the operator may selectan input to opt for different types of sweeteners depending on the typeof still beverage to be brewed.

If the brewing machine includes a sweet meter, such as part of a userinterface as described below, an operator may be able to adjust theamount of sweetener that may be added. Different settings may beprovided through the sweet meter. In an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, setting #1 may provide the least or weakest amount ofsweetener while setting #10 may provide the most or strongest amount ofsweetener. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the operatormay be presented with plus/minus selectors so that he/she mayselectively increase or decrease the amount or intensity of sweetenerbeing contributed to the brewed still beverage. It should be appreciatedthat any number of sweetener settings and means for adjusting theintensity of the sweetener may be provided without departing from thepresent disclosure. Similarly, if a flavoring or other additive is beingdelivered to the brewing machine and/or dispenser, the brewing machinemay include a flavoring or additive meter to selectively adjust theamount or intensity of the flavoring or additive according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, other flavorings may beadded to the sweetener that may be dispensed through the sweetener line.In these embodiments, the flavorings and sweeteners may be pre-combinedin a single tank or container for delivery into the brew basket and/orinto the dispenser through the sweetener line. However, there may beother embodiments wherein the flavorings and/or sweeteners may beseparately housed in different tanks or containers, each with a feedline into the brew basket and/or dispenser. Flavorings may include butare not limited to fruit flavoring, milk flavoring, chocolate flavoring,cream flavoring, and/or other taste-improving additives. It should beappreciated that there may be embodiments of the present disclosurewherein more than one flavoring and/or sweetener may be incorporated aspart of brewed lemonade.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the brewing machine mayinclude one or more user interfaces that may be disposed on the housingof the brewing machine (see FIG. 1). The user interface may be a touchscreen interface, a display with predetermined user selection controls,and combinations of the same. Controls on the user interface may be usedto control the amount of hot water that may be delivered to the brewbasket. Controls also may be used to control when and how sweetener isadded to the brew basket and/or to the dispenser receiving the brewedstill beverage. This user interface may include one or more inputmechanisms and/or a display screen, such as an LCD for digital readout.The user interface may include standardized inputs or the inputs may becustomizable without departing from the present disclosure. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, the user interface may include anon/off switch such that brewing may be started and stopped at theoperator's discretion. The user interface also may include means toselect different brew cycle settings, such as a half batch or a fullbatch, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The userinterface may further include a brew counter that may keep track of howmany batches have been brewed over a specified period of time. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, the user interface of the brewingmachine may include features such as quick or standard brew, energysavings modes, and/or sweetener with low product detection.

A brewing machine utilized according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be configured with certain default settings, includingbut not limited to different recipes, temperature settings, sweetenersettings, flavor settings, and water distribution/amount settings. Forexample, there may be embodiments of the present disclosure wherein astill beverage may be brewed at the same temperature each time. In suchembodiments, the brewing machine may be pre-programmed to commence thestill beverage brewing process when water being supplied to the brewingmachine has been heated to a specified temperature. It should beappreciated that there may be some embodiments of the present disclosurewherein the brewing machine may be equipped with a brew lockout functionthat may prevent brewing if the water temperature is lower than thespecified temperature.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the user interface of thebrewing machine may include different recipe buttons or input mechanismsand full/half brewing options for maximum flexibility. When referring torecipe buttons or input mechanisms, it should be appreciated thatdifferent still beverage recipes may be programmed or loaded into thebrewing machine to adapt for different levels or types of sweetener orflavoring that may be included in the lemonade being brewed. The recipesmay be named within the brewing machine such that a user may scrollthrough the recipe names or input an identifying feature of the desiredrecipe in order to select the desired still beverage recipe to bebrewed. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, differentflavors of a still beverage, such as lemonade, may be brewed, andaccordingly, a recipe may be selected to provide for a different brewtemperature, different flavoring, amount of pulp, and/or a differentamount of sweetener without departing from the present disclosure. Inother embodiments of the present disclosure, the brewing machineoperator may manually add the sweetener, pulp and/or flavoring withoututilizing a recipe input. Similarly, the operator may manually set thebrewing temperature without departing from the present disclosure. Italso should be appreciated that a brewing machine may include one ormore buttons or input mechanisms where an operator may manually programthese settings without departing from the present disclosure. When anoperator selects a recipe, the brewing machine may allow the user toreview each of the brew settings associated with that recipe. Brewsettings may include but are not limited to brew temperature, brewounces, dilution ounces, dilution delay time, sweetener, pulp, andflavoring according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It shouldbe appreciated that the brewing machine may include plus/minus or othersimilar selectors so that an operator may adjust the number of brewounces outside of a recipe selection without departing from the presentdisclosure. This may allow for changes in the size or the dispenser orreservoir receiving the finished product and/or the amount of brewedstill beverage that may be needed at a given time according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the brewing machine mayinclude a freshness timer that an operator may use to establish anexpiration time for the brewed still beverage. The freshness timer mayinclude a programmable range such that an operator may establish how thebrewed still beverage may remain in the vessel or reservoir before a newbatch should be brewed. It should be appreciated that there may beembodiments of the present disclosure wherein the brew machine may havea default time set for a brewed still beverage. However, there may beother embodiments of the present disclosure wherein the freshness orexpiration time may be variable, for example, depending on whether anypreservatives have been included in the finished product. It also shouldbe appreciated that the freshness setting may result in a notificationbeing made to the operator when the amount of time has passed so thatthe operator may discard the finished product remaining in the dispenseror reservoir. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, expirationof the freshness timer may result in a new batch being brewed into thedispenser or reservoir already containing the finished product (i.e.,not discarding the remaining product before the new batch is brewed). Itshould be appreciated that the freshness timer may automatically resetafter some action has been taken in response to its expiration (i.e.,discarding the remaining product or setting the brew machine to brew anew batch) or the timer may be manually reset without departing from thepresent disclosure.

It should be appreciated that a brewing machine may include more thanone dispenser or reservoir to receive the still beverage as it is brewedwithout departing from the present disclosure. FIG. 5 depicts adouble-dispenser system for receiving a brewed still beverage accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. Different or similar typesof a brewed still beverage may be brewed into each dispenser accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. A brewing machine employedwith a double-dispenser system may typically be used when a beveragethat may be sweetener (such as sweetened iced tea or coffee) may bereceived in one dispenser and an unsweetened beverage (such asunsweetened iced tea or coffee) may be received in the second dispenser.In embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be appreciated thata single user interface or more than one user interface may be employedto change the settings for brewing into each dispenser or reservoirwithout departing from the present disclosure. For example, the userinterface may include a Brew A input when a first reservoir is toreceive the still beverage as it is brewed and a Brew B input when asecond reservoir is to receive the still beverage as it is brewed. Itshould be appreciated that this may be used when different recipes for abrewed still beverage may be employed. In an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a flavoring, such as a fruit flavoring, may be incorporatedinto the brewed lemonade received by one reservoir and non-flavoredbrewed lemonade may be received by another reservoir. Similarly, onereservoir may receive a more highly sweetened brewed lemonade than theother reservoir without departing from the present disclosure. Therealso may be embodiments of the present disclosure wherein an operatormay rotate the brew basket of the brewing machine toward one dispenseror the other depending on which type of still beverage is to be brewed.

It should be appreciated that the brewing machine may brew intodifferent types of dispensers, serving devices, reservoirs and/or urnsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The type of vesselthat may receive the brewed lemonade may vary depending on the type ofbrewing machine being employed. It also should be appreciated the volumeof a still beverage that may be brewed into the vessel may varydepending on the capacity of the brewing machine.

Once the still beverage has been brewed, in some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the brewed still beverage may be ready to beconsumed without further action by the brewing system operator. However,there may be some embodiments of the present disclosure where theoperator may open the dispenser and mix/stir the brewed still beverage,for example, so that the sweetener may be more evenly distributedthroughout the dispenser prior to service. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, once the still beverage has been brewed within thedispenser, the dispenser may be covered and moved to a designatedserving location if it is not to remain in proximity of the brewingmachine.

It should be appreciated that brewing systems and methods according toembodiments of the present disclosure may be scalable relative to thedispenser or reservoir that may be receiving the brewed still beverageor the type of brewing machine that may be employed.

It also should be appreciated that while certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure have been described with respect to brewing lemonade,the methodology described herein may be applicable to preparing orbrewing other still beverages, including, but not limited to, fruitdrinks, isotonics, coconut water, and horchata, without departing fromthe present disclosure.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been describedin detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutionsand alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developedthat perform substantially the same function or achieve substantiallythe same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may beutilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appendedclaims are intended to include within their scope such processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

1. A method for brewing a still beverage in a brewing machine, themethod comprising: adding a pre-prepared still beverage mixture to abrew basket within the brewing machine; and flowing water through thepre-prepared still beverage mixture wherein the still beverage formedfrom combining the pre-prepared still beverage mixture and water fullyevacuates the brew basket and enters a reservoir as a homogenousmixture.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: adding one or moreadditional components to the pre-prepared still beverage mixture as itenters the reservoir.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or moreadditional components are selected from the group comprising:sweeteners, flavorings, pureed fruit, and pulp.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the still beverage is lemonade.
 5. The method of claim 4 whereinthe pre-prepared still beverage mixture is comprised of lemons andwater.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the pre-prepared still beveragemixture is further comprised of a gum-based addition that causes thepre-prepared still beverage mixture to melt faster when water flowsthrough the pre-prepared still beverage mixture.
 7. The method of claim1 wherein the pre-prepared still beverage mixture is in frozen formbefore being added to the brew basket.
 8. The method of claim 1 whereinthe pre-prepared still beverage mixture is in an encapsulated formbefore being added to the brew basket.
 9. The method of claim 1 whereinthe pre-prepared still beverage mixture is in a slurry form before beingadded to the brew basket.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the stillbeverage is selected from the group comprising: lemonade, a fruit drink,coconut water, an isotonic, and horchata.
 11. A method for brewing astill beverage in a brewing machine, the method comprising: adding apre-prepared still beverage mixture to a brew basket within the brewingmachine; and adding water to the pre-prepared still beverage mixture asit exits the brew basket and enters a reservoir.
 12. The method of claim11 further comprising: adding one or more additional components to thepre-prepared still beverage mixture as it enters the reservoir.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the one or more additional components areselected from the group comprising: sweeteners, flavorings, pureedfruit, and pulp.
 14. The method of claim 11 further comprising:combining a sweetener with water to be added to the pre-prepared stillbeverage mixture.
 15. The method of claim 11 wherein the pre-preparedstill beverage mixture is further comprised of a gum-based addition thatcauses the pre-prepared still beverage mixture to melt faster when wateris added to the pre-prepared still beverage mixture.
 16. The method ofclaim 11 wherein the pre-prepared still beverage mixture is in frozenform before being added to the brew basket.
 17. A method for brewinglemonade in a brewing machine, the method comprising: adding apre-prepared lemonade mixture to a brew basket within the brewingmachine, the pre-prepared lemonade mixture comprised of lemons and waterin a gelatinized form; and flowing water through the pre-preparedlemonade mixture wherein the water melts the pre-prepared lemonademixture as it evacuates the brew basket and enters a reservoir as ahomogenous mixture.
 18. The method of claim 17, the pre-preparedlemonade mixture further comprising one or more of the following:flavorings, pulp, sweeteners, and pureed fruit.
 19. The method of claim17, the pre-prepared lemonade mixture further comprising a gum-basedaddition that accelerates the melting of the pre-prepared lemonademixture as it evacuates the brew basket.
 20. The method of claim 17further comprising: adding one or more additional components to thepre-prepared lemonade mixture as it enters the reservoir, the one ormore additional components selected from the group comprising:flavorings, pulp, sweeteners, and pureed fruit.